Enclosure system

ABSTRACT

A modular enclosure system comprising a plurality of detachably interconnected wall panels, each comprising a rectangular frame that includes upper and lower transverse beams and spaced apart side-forming elements attached to the upper and lower transverse beams where each of the side-forming elements comprise a coupling device for detachably interconnecting the frame to a similar side-forming element of an adjacent wall panel frame with at least one locking spline in sliding engagement with each inter panel coupling in the system for securing adjacent wall panels together.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to modular construction of an enclosure,the concept of which can be employed to create partitions, storagecontainers or rapidly erected habitable buildings.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years there has been extensive development of storagecomplexes where variably sized enclosures are rented on a short or longterm basis for storing goods and equipment. Typically the renter musttransport the items to be stored to a storage facility and remove themwhen the rental term is ended. The storage units are usually constructedas one story structures with ground level doors, requiring substantialground area.

More recently an improved concept has been developed where a “pod” orcontainer is delivered to the renter at his/her home or place ofbusiness and at that location the pod is packed with the renter's goods.The pod is then transported to a storage facility, such as a warehouse,where numerous pods may be stacked vertically, one upon another, toconserve floor space. A renter's pod is redelivered to him/her when thegoods are called for or the rental term is ended. To implement such asystem empty pods must be distributed to the warehousing facility andoften moved from one facility to another. Such transportation andstorage of empty pods is uneconomical because of the large volume ofspace that is consumed by an empty pod.

In addition to modular storage containers that are structurally sturdyenough to be stacked, there is a continuing need for easilyinterconnected rigid panels that can adapted for a variety of uses fromoffice partitions to personnel housing units.

Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention toprovide a framing and interconnecting system for modular panels thatwill facilitate quick and easy assembly and erection of a unit that,when assembled, will possess the structural strength to serve the unit'spurpose.

A second object of the invention is to provide modular panels for anenclosure that are transportable and storable as a plurality of stackedflat panels, thus saving space and associated transportation and storagecosts.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention willbe apparent upon a reading of the following description of a preferredform of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is an enclosure system comprising a plurality ofdetachably interconnected wall-forming panels. Each panel includes aframe having top and bottom members that are interconnected by sideforming couplers. The couplers act to interconnect two or more panels.Each coupler includes first and second elongated members that form therespective sides of adjacent panels, each of which elongated membersinclude a bulkhead adapted to interlock with the bulkhead of the otherelongated member. A friction lock spline engages a portion of thebulkhead of one of the elongated members and a portion of the otherelongated member for securing said members together.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a container of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is an end view of an interconnecting pair of panel frame sidemembers adapted for in-line or co-planar interconnection of two panelframes.

FIG. 2 a is a fragmentary perspective view showing the bracketimplemented interconnection between one side frame member and the tophorizontal beam of the panel frame. A similar bracket interconnects theside frame member with a bottom horizontal beam of the panel frame.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top view of an in-line connection between twoadjoining panel frame members illustrating the interconnection betweenthe pair of frame members shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the interconnecting framemembers of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary top view of a right angle connection between twoadjoining panel frame members.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the interconnecting elementsshown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary top view of a 45 degree connection between twoadjoining panel frame members.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the interconnection elementsshown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of a friction locking spline.

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of a friction locking spline.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

According to the present invention, modular enclosures ranging fromstorage containers to habitable buildings are constructed from a numberof panels interconnected by a novel coupling system whose matingcomponents require minimal time and effort to interconnect and locktogether. A preferred form of the invention will be described in thecontext of a simple hexahedron that could be used as a storagecontainer.

FIG. 1 depicts an enclosure 2 of the present invention whose exemplarydimensions may be 9′×4′×5′. In such an arrangement the container wouldhave side walls 3 and 4, each comprising three co-planar interconnected3′×5′ panels 5. The back side of the container comprises one 5′×4′ panel9 interconnected to the rearmost side panels 5. The front end of thecontainer is constructed similarly to the rear panel 9 except that it isopen for access to the interior of the enclosure. To close the frontopening and secure the contents of the container a roll door 10 isprovided at the inside of the top horizontal structural element of theopening. Other closure devices can be used, for example, in a largerstructure the front of the enclosure could be a solid wall having ahinged door or a garage type door. The panels making up the side wallsand the ends of the container are seated along their bottom edges in achannel 10 that is secured to a single piece floor member 12. A topmember 14, is attached with traditional fastening means to the upperhorizontal beam elements 21 of the side and end panels.

Each of the panels 5 comprises a rigid rectangular frame 6 with anattached wall-forming cover 7. A panel frame includes spaced apartmutually parallel sides, each of which comprises one half of a matingpair of coupling members 20. The two frame sides are interconnected attheir upper and lower ends by respective horizontal top and bottom beams21 and 24.

As will become clear from the subsequent description, the individualwall panels 5 and 9, the front opening frame and roll door, the floor 12and the top cover member 14 may, when not assembled into a container orother type of enclosure, be laid flat and stacked, thus minimizingstorage and transportation space.

The coupling members 20 that form the sides of the frames 6 are of threebasic types: straight 20 s (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4), right angle 20 r (FIGS. 5and 6) and 45 degree angle 20 a (FIGS. 7 and 8). The 45 degree couplingmember is not required in the rectangular enclosure illustrated inFIG. 1. Because all three types of coupling members have commonelements, those elements may be referred to in the following descriptionby a common reference numeral 20 even though they may have differentconfigurations in the three different angular types of coupling members.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 illustrate the straight, or in line, coupling member 20s that interconnects co-planar panels 5. As with each of the otherangular types of coupling members 20, the straight version isconstructed from a pair of matched extruded elements that are mated andlocked together. Each element of the pair includes two elongated spacedapart legs 22 and 23, the end portions of which abut the terminal endsof top and bottom transverse frame beams 21 and 24. Disposed betweeneach pair of legs 22 and 23 is a U shaped channel 25 whose opposingsides are provided with grooves 26. Each pair of opposing grooves 26 isadapted to receive the lateral edges of the base of a U shaped bracket29. The brackets 29 attach the coupling member to the abutting beams 21and 22. FIG. 2 a is illustrative of the bracket 29 that attaches the topend of a coupling member 20 to the terminal end of top beam member 21.The attachment between the lower bean member 24 and the lower end of thecoupling member 20 is similar to that shown in FIG. 2 a.

As seen in FIG. 2 a, the upper and lower transverse frame beams 21 and24 are constructed of extruded metal having upper and lower channels 31and 32. Each of the channels is provided with opposing grooves 33 in therespective sides of each channel. The base portion of each of the Ushaped brackets 29 is secured within the coupling member channel 25 byscrews or similar fasteners while the extending sides of the U shapedbrackets 29 are sized and adapted to be inserted into the grooves 33 ofthe channels 31 and 32 of the transverse beams 21 and 24. The bracketsides are secured within the channels 31 and 32 by screws or similarfasteners.

Referring again to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, it is seen that in contrapositionto the channel 25 of each of the coupling elements 20 an irregularlycontoured bulkhead 28 interconnects the legs 22 and 23. The irregularcontours of the bulkheads 28 in each mating element engage one anotherto unify the elements into an assembled coupling member 20 when they arelocked together by a spline 40, as more fully explained below.

When the two cooperating elements of the in-line version of the couplingmember 20 s are interconnected the bulkhead projections 31 of oneelement nest into a groove 33 of the other element to stabilize theinterconnection of the two elements. Similar to the bulkheads of thein-line version shown in FIGS. 2,3 and 4, the bulkheads of the rightangle version, shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and the 45 degree version, shownin FIGS. 7 and 8, all contain contours and projections that are seatedwithin bulkhead grooves or troughs for stabilizing purposes.

In each angular version of the coupling member 20 the bulkheads of thepaired coupling elements are locked together by a spline 40. As seen inFIGS. 3-8, the spline 40 comprises a flat rigid plate positioned inco-planer grooves 42 on each side of a channel 44 that is defined by theparallel sides of opposing legs 23 of the two mating elements of acoupling member 20 together with the flat portion 49 of the bulkhead 28of one of the coupling member elements. The spline 40 (FIGS. 9 and 10)is provided with at least two threaded holes 47 that receive screws 48.Turning of the screws 48 forces the distal end of the screws against theflat portion 49 of the bulkhead of one of the elements while at the sametime forcing the spline plate 40 in the opposite direction against thesides of the channel grooves 42. These opposing forces between the twomating elements of a coupling member 20 create frictional forces betweenthose elements that are sufficient to effectively lock them together.Preferably a spline plate is equal in length to the coupling member 20.Locking a coupling member's elements together in this manner results inquick and effective interconnection of the panels to which therespective elements of the coupling members are a part. Disconnectingthe elements and thus detaching the panels, one from another, isaccomplished by the mere act of loosening the screws 48 to eliminate thefrictional contact between the two coupling member elements.

By selectively sizing the transverse frame beams 21 and 24 and thecoupling members 20 that comprise the frame 6 of each panel an infinitevariety of enclosures may be developed. The enclosures may be made largeenough to form emergency or very low cost housing units. In such a casethe panel coverings 7 can easily be provided with windows, doors andinsulation, if necessary. The primary advantages of the structure of thepresent invention are its ability to be transported or stored in a flatlow volume configuration, its fast and efficient assembly, the simplelocking mechanism, its overall strength and its ability to withstand thepressures of being stacked with similar enclosures.

1. An enclosure system comprising, a plurality of detachably interconnected wall panels, each comprising, a rectangular frame including, upper and lower transverse beams, spaced apart side-forming elements attached to the upper and lower transverse beams, each of said elements comprising coupling means for detachably interconnecting the frame to an adjacent wall panel, and a locking spline in sliding engagement with the coupling means for securing adjacent wall panels together.
 2. The enclosure system of claim 1 and further including, a floor having means for receiving each of the wall panels, and a top secured to the upper transverse beams and adapted to cover the enclosure formed by the interconnected wall panels.
 3. The enclosure system of claim 1 where each of the side-forming elements comprise, spaced apart legs and an irregularly contoured bulkhead interconnecting the legs.
 4. The enclosure system of claim 3 and further including, a first channel disposed between the legs having a planar bottom surface.
 5. The enclosure system of claim 4 where at least a portion of the bulkhead is parallel with the planar bottom surface of the first channel.
 6. The enclosure system of claim 4 where at least a portion of the bulkhead is disposed at an angle to the planar bottom surface of the first channel.
 7. The enclosure system of claim 3 and further including, a second channel disposed in the coupling means, said second channel having parallel sides defined by a portion of one leg of the coupling means included in a first frame and a portion of one leg of the coupling means included in a second adjoining frame, said second channel having, a bottom surface comprising a portion of the bulkhead of the coupling means included in the first frame, and coplanar grooves in the parallel sides, a spline plate slidably disposed in the coplanar grooves of the second channel, and screw means threadingly engaged with the spline plate and adapted for contact with the bottom surface of the second channel.
 8. An enclosure system comprising, a plurality of detachably interconnected wall-forming panels, a floor underlying the wall-forming panels, coupling means for interconnecting the panels, said coupling means each including first and second elongated members that form the respective sides of adjacent panels each of which elongated members include a bulkhead adapted to interlock with the bulkhead of the other elongated member, and locking means engaging the bulkhead of at least one of the elongated members for securing said members together.
 9. The system of claim 8 where at least a portion of each bulkhead is perpendicular to the plane of panels adjacent to the panel containing the bulkhead.
 10. The system of claim 8, where at least a portion of each bulkhead is disposed at an angle to the plane of at least one of the panels adjacent to the panel containing the bulkhead.
 11. The system of claim 8 where at least one of the panels has a closable opening therein.
 12. The system of claim 8 where the floor includes channel means in which the panels are seated. 